Call the 800 Information service at 1-800-555-1212 and ask them for the number for that hotel, giving the city (AC, Vegas, Reno, etc.) If the facility has no WATS line, the answer is to dial long-distance information (which is _free_) for Las Vegas at 1-702-555-1212 or AC at 1-609-555-1212 and ask them.

The following is a list of toll-free numbers for the hotels/casinos in Las Vegas. The source is “Tourguide Magazine” of May 3, 1991. This is a weekly tourist publication in LV. (Updated Sept. 20, 1993 to match “The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas”)

In response to those looking for nice but inexpensive accommodations in Vegas, I can recommend two places:

Downtown:

The Ogden House – Fremont Street

I don’t have their number, but some friends stayed there in June for $18 per night, and found it clean and comfortable. Their phone number is (702) 385-5200.

Strip:

King Alburt Motel, 185 Albert Ave. (off Kovel, behind the Maxim)

It’s behind the Flamingo Hilton/Imperial Palace/Barbary Coast area. Every unit is furnished with a kitchen, tv, and private bath, with simple but clean furnishings. Their location is ideal, and they quoted me day rates of $25/wk $40/wkend per night for a single. And these prices were for March,(’92) – usually a busy and high priced season. And you can do even better than these rates for a weekly rental. They are happy to negotiate! Their phone number is (800)-553-7753 or (702) 732- 1555

Caveat Emptor: Another rec.gambler says to avoid this place, it is a dump.

Call the Las Vegas Tourism Bureau for details of other low-cost area lodging. They have an toll-free number – 1-800-522-9555. Woops – I just called it and they only handle casinos.

But these 800 numbers DO handle the smaller places as well. I called the LV Chamber of Commerce for these numbers, and they had even more than these:

800 – 548-2008

800 – 345-7177

Through the 7177 number, I arranged a room in the beautiful new tower at the Stardust for much lower than what the hotel quoted me directly, also at a lower rate than the other 800 numbers could offer (32/wk 40/wkend). They are a room ‘wholesaler’ and seem to be the best place to make reservations through. The new tower at the Stardust is supposed to be ****1/2, according to Julie – the agent I spoke with. She also asked for a high floor which she said have spectacular views of the entire strip.

They know all the deals in town! Good luck, hotel bargain hunters!!

Q:L4 What are some good places to play/stay in Reno?

A:L4 (Mike Northam)

[Note: This kind of information tends to become outdated quickly, so “your mileage may vary”]

Well, this is just IMHO, of course. For cheap rooms: Circus Circus, Fitzgerald’s downtown. If you’re going to be gambling something more than nickels ($5 bets), you might call a place like the Flamingo Hilton and get a credit application. Then you’ll qualify for the “gambler’s rate”, which will usually be about half price. You’ve gotta gamble for at least four hours per day to get this, in most casinos. The best rooms are at Harrah’s, but they have standard northern Nevada rules. (If you’re a gambler, check with their VIP services to see if they have any special deals going. They often have special packages if you buy-in for $1200, or some such.)

Craps: most every place has double odds. You can play for 25 cents at the Palomino (?) in Sparks and at one of the dives in downtown (Nevada Club?–can’t remember).

[The Union Plaza and it’s 25c, 10x-odds Craps tables are one of the best and most consistent pure gambling deals in Vegas. — Blair Houghton]

Shows: well, my favorite is the planetarium at the University of Nevada :-). Reno is not a big show town, but Harrah’s usually has some country western star and sometimes a decent cabaret act. The Flamingo Hilton has a comedy club and usually a pretty good lounge act (which you can watch while you play BJ, which is fun). Reno Hilton has a big stage show. The big headliners usually are found at Tahoe, not Reno.

Restaurants: I’ve always liked the Presidential Car (I think in Harold’s–I never can remember). A romantic (and expensive) meal can be had at sunset at the Top of the Hilton. Several people have mentioned a good Italian restaurant at the El Dorado, but I haven’t tried it myself. Harrah’s has a pretty good $5 or so buffet, but their other restaurants are only so-so. Reno Hilton has a nice steak house. If you like screaming kids with your meals, check out Circus Circus (though I haven’t been there for years, so maybe things have changed?).

Since you’ve never been to Reno before, I should mention that you can easily walk to all the downtown casinos. There’s a shuttle bus from downtown to Reno Hilton (the closest to the airport–we traditionally stop in there on our way out of town for a few hours). There’s also a group of casinos in Sparks (centered around John Ascuaga’s Nugget). If you have a car, the Peppermill (popular with the yuppie crowd) and the Clarion (Reno’s newest casino, and quite nice) are out on south Virginia St.

Q:L5 Where is Elko Nevada?

A:L5 (Mike Northam, Steve Jacobs)

[NOTE: Elko is about 120 miles west of the Utah/Nevada border. –SRJ]

Casino Express (800) 258-8800 or (800) 654-0888 in Canada, owned by the people who run the Elko Red Lion Inn, runs numerous junkets to Elko, NV. They own two Boeing 737 aircraft, and charter several others on weekends. They fly from several western cities (Seattle, Bellingham, Spokane, Portland, Eugene, Salem, San Jose, Fresno, Modesto, Santa Maria, Ontario, Denver, Salt Lake City, etc.) and have multiple-day junkets from Canadian and midwest cities (Minneapolis, Mason City, etc.)

The casino has BJ, single and double deck, Las Vegas rules (H17, DAT) $5 minimum for single deck. Penetration varies with the dealer, so there apparently isn’t a house rule. There is no heat whatsoever, so 10:1 spreads are no problem. During the ‘gambling frenzy’ of the last few moments before the airport bus departs, *massive* spreads are possible–I’ve gone from $5 to $200 (40:1) no problem. All the tables are *always* full, so two rounds of seven is all you’ll see on the single deck. There’s also craps, roulette, and a small sports book. Keno for the truly adventuresome :-).

From Portland, the junket cost is $49 for a 12-hour turnaround flight [these are $19 from Salt Lake, so you’re price may vary], you have to show $350 in cash to board the flight. Since it’s a charter flight, there is a nice party atmosphere on board the plane. Your play is rated, and presumably, if you don’t gamble enough, you might be barred from a future flight, though this hasn’t been a problem for any of my friends.

Elko also has a poker room, which now opens at 10:00 AM (they used to open at 5 pm). They play 7-stud ($2-$6) and Texas Hold’em ($4-$10). These can be great games if there are several junket people (junkies?) at the table. You can also fleece the locals if you catch them off guard, since they have great difficulty believing that anyone who flies to Elko could know anything about poker. [Last time I was in Elko, I was surprised to learn that the locals now mostly avoid the game. Apparently they’ve taken a beating from the junketeers — SRJ]

Q:L6 Where is Foxwoods?

A:L6 (Dave Tahajian, Susann Viafora)

Foxwoods is located within an Indian reservation in Ledyard, Conn. It is located approx. 15 miles SW of the Rhode Island/Conn border, 15 miles NW of Mystic Conn, 40 miles South of Worcester Mass, and 40 miles NE of Hartford Conn. Foxwoods is located directly on Rt. 2, almost in the middle of I395 and I95 (which run in parallel). It’s an 1.5 hour ride from Boston, 1+ hour ride from Hartford or Providence, and 2.5 hour ride from NYC (all approximations). [Foxwoods is at the intersection of Routes 2 and 214 — Dave Everett]

Foxwoods is *not* your run of the mill Indian casino, in fact you would have a hard time finding any Indians at all! It’s huge, very clean and well run and very professional. Many of the managers and floormen come from LV or AC. I would compare it to any other nice casino in AC or LV. You may be apprehensive as you drive though the miles of corn fields when getting there, but this soon disappears as soon as you walk though the doors. They have on site ATM machines (which gives out nice new $100 bills!), credit card cash advance machines, and will even setup a credit line for you (call ahead for this).

Two Trees Inn has approximately 280 guest rooms. Rates range from $100 to $150 for a standard room, $125 to $175 for a one-bedroom suite, depending on the time of year. Summer is the tourist season in southeastern Connecticut and rates are higher then. Two Trees provides a free 24 hour shuttle.

Foxwoods Resort Hotel offers 312 guest rooms and suites, with access to a gorgeous health spa and pool. Rates run from $135 to $200 for a standard room to $200-$275 for a one-bedroom suite, again with the higher rates during the summer season.

Rooms at both hotels are often booked weeks in advance. For reservations and more information call 1-800-FOXWOOD.

Foxwoods uses a comp system where you are given a credit card (called a “Wampum card”) which you give to the floorperson when you begin a session. You gain “Wampum points” based on your avg. bet, the game you are playing, and the amount of time you play. These points can be used at any of the casino’s restaurants, shops, and the hotels, where 1 point = $1. So if you have 49 points, you can stay at the Two Trees one weekday for free! You can get your “Wampum Card” for free at the promotions booth (must show picture ID).

Wampum points are given for any game, including poker. Examples are:

You play BJ, your avg bet is $10 and you use basic strategy, you will earn 10 points per hour play.

In 1-5/6-12 7stud or 3-6/6-12 holdem or 5-10 omaha, you’ll get 1/2 point per hour (pot rake but no time charge)

In 10-20 7stud or holdem, you get 1 point per hour (no rake but $10/hour time charge).

Note that in poker, you must “sign out” when you leave the game, otherwise your points will be forfeited.

There are really two casinos, the “original one” located at the main entrance near the bingo hall, and the “new one” located below the main hotel. You can tell the difference by the colors, the new one uses a purple color scheme, and the original one uses aqua. The poker room is located downstairs near the main entrance of the original casino, under the waterfall.

Foxwoods has many restaurants on site, including an all you can eat buffet, a grill, Chinese, Italian, and steak rooms, plus a couple of self service snack-bars for sandwiches and pizza slices. The poker room offers table service for players, and you can get it comped too (via your Wampum card)!

Most people get to Foxwoods via car or charter buses. There is no major airport in the immediate area, and no trains which go directly to Ledyard. The closest train service goes to nearby Mystic, which is a 20 minute drive away (taxi cost $20). Nearest major airport is in T.F Green in Warwick, RI which is 1 hour drive away. There is also an airport in Providence Rhode Island which is about an hour from Foxwoods.

There are several other hotels in nearby Mystic which offer free shuttle service to Foxwoods. There are two valet parking services, one at the main casino entrance and one at the main hotel entrance. Also lots of free self parking. If the lots are full, try parking at the Two Trees Inn or one of the auxiliary lots located on Rt. 2 and take the free shuttle to the casino. My favorite place to park is in the garage under the main hotel, just take the elevator up to the casino!

Foxwoods offers almost all casino games, plus a 50+ table poker room. They also have slots, a horse book, keno, and a massive bingo room which holds major events approx every month.

BJ conditions are multi deck shoe (6 or 8), ~ 70% penetration, S17, DOA, DAS, no resplit Aces, and some tables offer O/U and “super 7s” side bets. Also all “back line” betting where up to 2 others can bet on one hand, and the person sitting makes the decisions. The combined bet of all players cannot exceed the maximum.

No heat has been reported of, and there are no special rules for late entry into the shoe in progress. Minimums are $5 if not busy, $10-$15 otherwise. There are always two $2 tables open, but these have a long wait.

As of July ’95, Southeast Area Transit is offering shuttle bus service between Foxwoods and the Amtrak station in New London, Conn. The shuttle service operates daily, with eight buses Monday through Saturday and six buses on Sunday. The shuttle costs $2 each way and coincides with the arrival times of both north- and south-bound trains. Call (203) 886-2631 for schedule information.

Cross Sound Ferry has also just begun a great new service between New London and Orient Point, Long Island. A high-speed boat called the Sea Jet (that does NOT carry vehicles, sorry) is cutting the crossing time to 35 minutes. The round-trip fare is $20, and Foxwoods is offering food and gaming coupons worth $25. Foxwoods also offers a free shuttle service to and from the casino. For boat reservations contact Cross Sound Ferry at (203) 443-5281.

The poker room features 7stud, holdem and omaha. Limits are:

7stud hi: 1-5, 3-6, 6-12, 10-20, 15-30, 20-40, 30-60, 50-100*

7stud hi/lo 8 qualify: 15-30*, 20-40*

holdem: 3-6, 6-12, 10-20, 15-30*, 20-40*, 30-60*

omaha hi/lo 8 qualify: 5-10, 10-20*

* these usually are run on busy weekends/holidays.

There is also a tournament every Wednesday night which switches between 7stud and holdem on alternative weeks. Buy in is $25 plus $10 fee, no re-buys. Top 8 players get $$$.

I don’t know much about the craps game, except the min is $10 if not busy, $15-$25 otherwise. Same goes for Roulette.

For even more info, call them at 800-PLAYBIG.

Q:L7 Where is Turning Stone?

A:L7 (Dave “4” Everett)

The Turning Stone Casino is an enterprise of the Oneida Indian Nation of New York, and is located just a fraction of a mile off I-90 in Verona, NY (exit 33 of the NY State Thruway).

There is six-deck blackjack, and single-deck blackjack. As of this writing (9/94) the rules are:

S17

Double any 2 first cards except a point count of 21

Split any pair

Split aces get only one card each

Other pairs may be resplit up to four hands

Double after split (EXCEPT on single deck games, no double after split)

They have a coffee shop with very reasonable prices open 0000 to 1600, and in the same room, a dinner buffet for $14 open 1600 to ????. They also have a “cafe'” with counter service only, open most of the time (perhaps all).

Comps are reasonably easy. Four hours of $10 BJ got this writer brunch at the coffee shop, and another four hours earned a dinner buffet. Your mileage may vary.

Lodging is available nearby. If you want fancy lodging, stay in Syracuse or Utica, depending upon whether you’re travelling from the east or the west.